Portland Climate Action Now!

In October 2009 the Portland city council adopted a climate action plan, setting in place the city’s ambitious sustainability roadmap to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050. A year and a half later the city is putting the action plan to work with its Portland Climate Action Now!campaign. As daunting a challenge as climate change presents, the city is helping its residents understand how individual choices we make everyday can have a huge impact on our collective carbon emissions. What we eat, how we heat and power our homes, how we get around, what we buy and what we throw away, make up more than half of all local carbon emissions. On this episode of Locus Focus we're joined by Portland mayor Sam Adams, and Michael Armstrong—with the city's bureau of Planning and Sustainability—to talk about how the Portland Climate Action Now! campaign will help Portland residents make a real difference, by showing them how to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in four areas: Healthy Home, Getting Around,Your Stuff, and Food Choices.

Sam Adams is the Mayor of Portland, Oregon.

Michael Armstrong used to be the deputy director of the Portland Office of Sustainable Development, before it merged with the Planning Bureau. Now he heads the sustainability division of the Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.